Eight Protesters Held In Late Night Crackdown At Nilackal

Activists block road to Pampa to prevent entry of young women

The police cracked down on protesters at Nilackal, the entry point to the Sabarimala hill temple, arresting eight persons from the Namajapa pandal of the Sabarimala Aachara Samrakshana Sami-ti late on Tuesday.

By late evening, the police had also taken control of the main road to Pampa, with Devaswom Minister Kada-kampally Surendran driving through under tight security for Wednesday's official review meeting ahead of the annual Mandalam-Makaravi-lakku pilgrim season, beginning on November 18.

The temple is scheduled to open for its monthly rituals on Wednesday evening.

Additional Director-General of Police Anil Kant and district police chief T. Narayanan are camping at Nilackal. The police have declared Sabarimala a security zone under Section 53 of the Pol-
ice Act.

The police action came at the end of a tense day at Nilackal as women protesters — many from the local tribal community —stopped and screened all Pampa-bound vehicles amid growing protests against the Supreme Court's verdict permitting entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50.